Above 1200 Sq/FT 86's 20HP shop

[86turbodsl]

I'd drive 10hrs to help you brother. We All struggle with it I think.

Started playing around with the tig. My beads need a LOT of work. I need to practice.



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[86turbodsl]

Day 2 of the TIG practice - i actually can see the puddle now, after cleaning my hood off. And adding my bifocals and cheaters. So i got 4-5 actual decent-ish beads, stacks of dimes, but not straight. My torch handle is heavy and uncomfortable. Optimization is needed.

Some of you may be asking why i'm doing this right now, it's that once christmas break starts, i lose access to my pro welder at work and have to do all this on my own at home, with the goal of finishing the burner 2.0 by christmas break, TIG skills will be required. Some of the parts are a little too small for a big MIG bead.

 

[jbmatth]

86, I just started TIG welding this month and it is really fun, a slow methodical process that really just takes time to not only learn but also complete each weld. I wish you the best and having a teacher will surely help but YouTube is a great tool as well.

JB

 

[86turbodsl]

JB, i totally agree. I am having a blast learning it. Only an hour at home in the evenings so far, but i'm really looking forward to this weekend - lots of practice. And i haven't even setup the syncrowaves yet! This is just on the 330! Been wanting to do this for many years and finally getting to do it is quite satisfying. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Perrorojo]

Funny, I asked for a TIG torch for Christmas. For some the desire to learn never goes away. I can't wait to start practicing.

 

[86turbodsl]

Haha! Nice! I asked for several welding items on my Amazon list as well. Nobody knows what to get me usually. Hope you get a nice one!

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[86turbodsl]

Having a bad day. Work and home. I spent some time tack welding things together with the tig, both with and without filler, and then packed up and came inside. Cocktail in hand. GJ relaxation for the win.

I'm really ready for the 2 week break. Lots of shop time impending.

 

[Strouty]

Hope today is better. Two weeks should help get a few things done, just don't wait until the last day to do them!

 

[bimmer1980]

Yeah, some times the best thing to do is pack it in and try for another day.....

I find that starting fresh makes a big difference....

I'm ready to get back to working on my boiler install. I've been down for the count with a cold sinus infection...ug...

 

[86turbodsl]

Unfortunately it has gotten only moderately better. I'm going to keep chugging though.

 

[Strouty]

I have these days, sometimes 7 days a week. You definitely have to try and move forward, even when it means going backwards to get there.

It is nice outside here, but I am wrapping Christmas presents inside, then I have to fold my laundry, I know all this has to be done, so I am just folding one shirt at a time.

 

[86turbodsl]

For various reasons, my boss told me to hide today and tomorrow, so i'm in the machine shop, making the mandrels that the garage door opener straps will wind up on.

 

[Strouty]

Sounds like a nice place to hide.

 

[86turbodsl]

Made my hubs and need to drill an offset hole in the hub for the strap and pin to Lodge in then perimeter weld one side. The keyway on one side should be enough to prevent shear don't you think? I should run the calcs.

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[86turbodsl]

Ran the calcs. Over 6 to 1 safety factor on keyway shear and crushing. We are good.

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[86turbodsl]

Terrible day. Caught between my multiple masters. One boss wants one thing, one boss wants another. Twistingin the breeze. 2 weeks off to stew on it. Not a nice last day. I spent the last 4 hours hiding waiting for them to release us.

 

[86turbodsl]

Finished the mandrels to wind the door webbing up. Turned out pretty good I think.

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[bimmer1980]

Terrible day. Caught between my multiple masters. One boss wants one thing, one boss wants another. Twistingin the breeze. 2 weels off to stew on it. Not a nice last day. I spent the last 4 hours hiding waiting for them to release us.

Any details you care to share on here? Understand if you don't...

Just don't let it ruin your vacation time.... Sometimes we think it feels good to grump about stuff, but we are better off moving onward and upward... It's really lost time if we let if ruin our day.... Been there done that...

I finally got outside and got a couple of pipes soldered on my boiler system! Have torch, will make stuff!

 

[86turbodsl]

Let's see, anonymously i can say this:

I work for a foreign company. they send expats here to coordinate. My customer is really my coordinator. But we have american staff who manage us. My coordinator asked me for some CAD models to analyse for a project the american side (us) are developing. My american manager doesn't want the models to go to the foreign side because they can take it away from us and develop the product themselves and cut us out of the loop. We will get no recognition or patents.

In a nutshell: My coordinator asked me for models to send over to the mothership. In the presence of my direct american manager. I told him it would take a day or so to get the models prepared and sent over. My american manager said nothing. Later in private, my american manager said to me do not under any circumstances send models to the mothership.

Since i already promised models to the coordinator, one of these 3 things will be true:

1. I will be lying to the coordinator
2. My coordinator will think i am a useless dirtbag who can't perform since i didn't deliver on time.
3. I throw my american manager under the bus wheels.

My coordinator is not dumb. He has a PhD. They don't send stupid guys over. They are all smart.
He knows the process of getting models ready to send is trivial.

I told my american manager i am very stressed out about this and he left me hanging in the breeze with the coordinator. he blew me off and told me i didn't have a problem. i told him he was wrong.

Later, my coordinator told me in an email DIRECTLY addressed to me, that i was to send the models to a certain destination. I replied that the team members should discuss conflicting direction before i proceed. My american manager sent me an email ONLY to me, asking why i was stirring the pot.

There are no outcomes i can see that don't directly affect my career at this company.
1. i tee off my coordinator and make american staff happy
2. i tee off american staff and make foreign staff happy

I see my direct manager as letting me twist in the breeze. When i told him i was stressed, he dismissed my fears and told me i was wrong.

When i gave my coordinator a timeline when i would produce, not producing by the timeline goes against my principles.

Damned if i do, damned if i don't. Hard not to let it affect me as it happens right before i go on 2 week vacation and i can't just forget it. I own it enough to make it a problem.

 

[Strouty]

That sounds like a bad spot for sure. I am not sure of how things go in big business, but I would go over your manager's head and explain the situation, or copy both of them with the original emails from both the coordinator and manager and let them fight it out. Completely outside perspective and most likely wrong advice, but as a typical keyboard commando, well these are my first thoughts. The other way would be to BCC one or the other with your response, then forward their response to the other one. No matter what you do, you will piss someone off, if you go to HR or over the head of the manager, at least there is more documentation of your concern.

 

[bimmer1980]

Yeah, I can see why you are stressed! Talk about internal company conflicts.

At the end of the day, who writes the paycheck for you?

The only other thing that might be interesting.... Solidworks has a new feature where it will automatically take your design and make it very basic. It allows you to strip out details that are critical for the intimate details, but it still allows you to show the overall design concept. Might be handy here, but would probably not satisfy your coordinator...

At the end of the day, who has more power over you? The coordinator or your US manager?

Candidly, if the parent foreign company could develop this idea, why do they need the US staff?

From the outside looking in, I would probably send an email to the coordinator and the US manager saying that you are getting conflicting direction and you need them to work out a solution. (Easier said than done....)

Sounds as though the US manager has a little bit of "little man" syndrome and small balls, but I digress..... Lol...

I can see why you are stressed....

 

[bimmer1980]

That sounds like a bad spot for sure. I am not sure of how things go in big business, but I would go over your manager's head and explain the situation, or copy both of them with the original emails from both the coordinator and manager and let them fight it out. Completely outside perspective and most likely wrong advice, but as a typical keyboard commando, well these are my first thoughts. The other way would be to BCC one or the other with your response, then forward their response to the other one. No matter what you do, you will piss someone off, if you go to HR or over the head of the manager, at least there is more documentation of your concern.

Yup, I would agree!

Then sit back and watch the fireworks!!

 

[Perrorojo]

Man, that *****. That's lose/lose.

In my experience, you do what's best for you. Don't sacrifice your principles so someone else can look good. I refused to do something my boss wanted based on principle. He fired me. It was the happiest day I'd had at that company.

Good luck and enjoy your shop time.



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[86turbodsl]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've probably gone as far as I can go for the moment. I talked with another senior guy who knows my manager pretty well and he said the manager doesn't hold grudges. We will see. Ultimately all money flows from the foreign company. They are our masters. Complicating the fact is that I have had a patent stolen from me by my past coordinator, so I can definitely see my American managers viewpoints. I hate the situation I am in but ultimately I probably have no fear of getting fired.

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[bimmer1980]

Just curious, do you get extra compensation if your name is on a patent?

Or is it more of just getting credit?

If the compensation doesn't change, then I would be less worried about whether your name is on the patent or not. Candidly, patents are only good if the company is willing to litigate.... Otherwise they are a glorified certificate to hang on the wall.

That being said, it is nice to have the bragging rights of having your name on a patent.... But I would rather continue to get a paycheck if there are no royalties associated with your name on the patent....

How's the new boiler project coming along?

I got a few pipes soldered up for my boiler project... Need to go cut a few more....

 

[86turbodsl]

I do get some compensation, not a lot, but some. In my industry, patents make you more marketable. It's usually worth the effort. I've got 3-4 more in the works right now, but probably won't see them issued for a few years yet.

The new burner is coming along slowly. I spent a few days getting door opener parts made so i could work on that also. Cleaning the shop tonight, heating it back up, since the boiler was off for 3 days. It was 42F in there at 130pm, it's now 730pm and up to about 55F. I'm starting to feel more comfortable so i've been cleaning off the welding table and drill press to get moving on the burner again. I'd like that working by the end of the week if possible, depending on weather and how the welding goes. I have to take the boiler down for a while to move to the new one, so i have to be careful on order of operations. The preheat tank used on the old burner gets re-used on the new one, in a different spot, and with a couple of changes. So the new stuff has to be spot on right before i move that so the boiler isn't down for a long time.

 

[86turbodsl]

Yeah, I can see why you are stressed! Talk about internal company conflicts.

At the end of the day, who writes the paycheck for you?

The only other thing that might be interesting.... Solidworks has a new feature where it will automatically take your design and make it very basic. It allows you to strip out details that are critical for the intimate details, but it still allows you to show the overall design concept. Might be handy here, but would probably not satisfy your coordinator...

At the end of the day, who has more power over you? The coordinator or your US manager?

Candidly, if the parent foreign company could develop this idea, why do they need the US staff?

From the outside looking in, I would probably send an email to the coordinator and the US manager saying that you are getting conflicting direction and you need them to work out a solution. (Easier said than done....)

Sounds as though the US manager has a little bit of "little man" syndrome and small balls, but I digress..... Lol...

I can see why you are stressed....

Forgot to answer you. The foreign company writes the checks. I did send an email to both coordinator and manager that i had conflicting direction and that got me the email from my manager that i was stirring the pot.
The right time for him to have that conversation with the coordinator was when we were all meeting and he asked me for the models. NOT to let me answer and then put me in the bind. My manager has shown in the past that he does not understand social norms. He's the PhD smart guy in the room, that nobody can stand because he's awkward. He took a liking to me from the start and i sit right next to him. Everybody else holds him at a distance. He has shown in the past that he does NOT listen to me when i tell him something. This is his first manager gig. He was hired from outside, replacing an acting manager when the previous one jumped ship. He does NOT understand company culture like i do. I've been here 13 years. I've seen 5 other coordinators. This one is pretty nice, but i still am expected to give when asked.

From conversations i've had with my manager, he wanted me to ignore the request for the christmas break, then hurriedly file patents in January, then send the models. He has vested interest in the project as it was his idea and he brought in from outside when he arrived. The american arm of the business is for idea generation, as the mothership has difficulty innovating. The home country doesn't do much of that. It's cultural.

 

[86turbodsl]

Tuning up parts and tack welding assemblies. Christmas Eve is here. Tomorrow we pickup my dad from the rehab place and he goes home for a week until the nursing home opens up. Going to be a hectic week.

The Tig welder is working well.
Tiny tacks and lots of tungsten grinding!

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[Strouty]

Looking good, have a great !

 

[86turbodsl]

Thanks strouty! You do the same.

All tacked up and ready for test fitting and final welding.

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[Strouty]

It looks like a PTO hydraulic pump case.

 

[86turbodsl]

Haha! A little, yes! Merry Christmas to all!

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[86turbodsl]

Practicing my joints before I take the big plunge. Starting to feel it a bit more.

First **** joint on the right, then laywire technique on the left, then the last joint cleaning everything and watching the puddle hard.

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[jbmatth]

Wow, making great progress on TIG, I really don't know well enough to say if you need to do something different so I'll just say keep practicing.

JB

 

[86turbodsl]

Thanks! I sent that last pic to my buddy at work who normally tigs my stuff. He said I'm ready to weld up my parts. Nice praise from him! I still feel like I don't control all the variables though. I think the quality of the equipment is helping a lot too.

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[bimmer1980]

That last weld looks pretty good!

Interesting assembly of parts. Not sure I understand yet, but I'll keep following along...

 

[86turbodsl]

Thanks! I will be posting a video of it running when I get that far. It's not too hard to understand if you study a bit.

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[86turbodsl]

Pretty busy day, it was 50f and sunny this morning. Opened the garage door and moved a lot of stuff around. 5 barrels of oil inside, cleared floor, moved welders inside, and room for my boys truck. Happy happy. By 5pm it was 34f and snowing.

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[86turbodsl]

Got the main burner assy completed. Pretty good Tig practice. I'm going to keep the boiler running until I get it quite warm in here so I can pull the oil tank tomorrow and weld on it.

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[Strouty]

Fingers crossed it works for you.